Next Ubuntu Release Will Include Multi-Touch

Next Ubuntu Release Will Include Multi-Touch

17th Aug 12:08

Ubuntu supplier Canonical has said that it plans to introduce advanced multitouch facilities into future releases of the Linux operating system.

Mark Shuttleworth from the development team, said that they are working on a system that will allow users to combine touch controls into a language, mixing multiple controls into a single gesture-based system, "Rather than single, magic gestures, we're making it possible for basic gestures to be chained, or composed, into more sophisticated "sentences," he said.

"The basic gestures, or primitives, are like individual verbs, and stringing them together allows for richer interactions. It's not quite the difference between banging rocks together and conducting a symphony orchestra, but it feels like a good step in the right direction."

The multitouch facilities will be included in build 10.10.10 he said and the group was using the Dell XT2 as a development platform. The ultimate goal is to incorporate touch control into all major applications by release 11.04.